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Saturday, November 30, 2013

Review of White Trash Beautiful by Teresa Mummert

*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.White Trash Beautiful started out promising, and I was thinking: this is going to be different than all the other New Adult novels out there. And that's where the disappointment came from, because there was nothing different about it. It was entirely too predictable and felt like insta-love. This is the first novel I've read by Teresa Mummert, and it might just be the last.Rating: 2 stars!

The biggest problem I had with this book was the main character: Cass Daniels. The author tried to portray her character in a way that would have her audience sympathizing with her. But I just don't. Cass has had a lot of heartache in her life, and she's got a dead-end job and lives in a run-down trailer park with her drugged up boyfriend and mother. But I just found her to be incredibly weak, a little bit selfish, and a whole lot annoying. I just didn't feel any sympathy for her. Cass' inner dialogue was all about how she wanted to get out of this life and how much her life sucks and how Tucker deserves better than her. I get it--we all have insecurities, we all deal with self-esteem issues. But it was too much, and because of Cass' constant whining, her character was sorely underdeveloped. She never tried to make her life better; she was only pushed to do that because Jackson, her good-for-nothing abusive boyfriend finds out she's been "sneaking around" behind his back. And let's be honest, she cheated. Full-on cheated on the guy. Not that he didn't deserve it, but that's not something you want to read about from the main character. You're supposed to like the MC!The only character I liked was Tucker; and even then, I didn't connect with him very well. Not much about his life is brought up, and he seems to have this hero complex when it comes to Cass. Which, I love. Protective guy? Swoon! But, I didn't think he pushed enough, fought enough, to keep himself in her life. Granted, Cass pushed him away so much I was surprised he kept coming back. He carried her all the way through this book. She never stood up for herself. I thought their relationship was just this push-and-pull, never anything more than a fantasy to escape reality. I don't believe that what they have is a happily-ever-after kind of love. Their relationship didn't consist of much except wanting, longing, and a few surface conversations about their lives.The plot was... Simplistic. Boring. Ridiculous. It literally didn't consist of much except Cass' inner struggles and insecurities, a few "dates" with Tucker, and too many scenes with her dead-end job and her sucky life in the trailer park. The secondary characters didn't have personalities and were only added to keep up the image of this "white trash" life that the lead character has. There wasn't enough emphasis on Cass' and Tucker's relationship, nor was there any conflict. Sure, there were drugs and cheating involved. But none of that was really brought up as a conflict. The only decent drama was in the end, when Cass comes home for the last time. I was waiting for that other shoe to drop, for Jackson to find her stuffed teddy bear or those dresses sooner, for him to pick a fight, for her mother to make Cass realize that she shouldn't have to be the parent. Everything seemed to tie up too nicely in a bow (even with the tragedies, which were a ridiculously easy way to end Cass' problems). I thought the book should have ended Cass' and Tucker's story. I honestly don't know what other subplots the author is going to pull out to continue this entirely too predictable "love story." Cass' character had promise; this book had promise. But I won't be picking up White Trash Damaged because I just don't care what happens with these characters after the end of this book.

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I'm Holly, the blogger behind The Fox's Hideaway. I love to read, write, play video games, and Netflix. I spend way too much time binge-watching TV shows I never finish, procrastinating life, and disappearing into the pages of a book for hours on end. I started this blog as a way to give myself a creative outlet for writing and talk books with people who "get" it. And it's since become one of the biggest passions I have, and it humbles me that you're here and reading this short little paragraph right now. I hope you'll stick around as I rant and rave and stumble through adulthood. :D

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